1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the sport of golf, and more particularly, to a tool to repair ball-marks in a golf green caused by golf ball impacts during play.
2. Description of the Related Art
Several designs for have been designed in the past. None of them, however, describes a device that gently lifts the bottom of the ball-mark relieving pressure on the turf while simultaneously applying pressure to the raised rim of the ball-mark while also creating a pattern of micro-aerations to help the turf heal rapidly.
Applicant believes that the closest reference corresponds to U.S. Pat. No. 3,168,150 issued to G. O. Kappler. However, it differs from the present invention because Kappler uses “blade-like, soil-penetrating finger(s)” that slice through the periphery of a ground irregularity. This slicing action severs already stressed turf roots and shoots. Further, the Kappler device will open up new scars in the turf, actually causing more damage than would be without any intervention by a greenskeeper with his device.
Applicant also references U.S. Pat. No. 5,322,130 issued to A. Ryden for his Golf Ball Mark Repair Tool. Similar to the Kappler design, Ryden provide for a plurality of fingers that insert into the soil and then dig under the ball-mark to pull up soil. Again, this damages the surrounding turf by cutting the roots and shoots which slows down natural healing of the turf and often results in brown-spots from necrotic grass damages by the tool provided to repair such injury.
Ryden does mention the concept of aeration but apparently only to cast a positive light on the slicing soil wounds opened up by use of his tool. If proper aeration was achieved by the Ryden device they are placed in the wrong location around the periphery of the ball-mark and not in the ball-mark itself where the ball injury occurred.
Kappler, Ryden and all other known comparable prior art references fail to disclose or suggest alone or in combination: a golf green repair tool that raises the bottom of the ball-mark using slender, headed spears inserted into the center of the ball-mark to pull up the ball-mark to normal turf level without slicing any turf while inserting barbless tines through the rest of the ball-mark to aerate the impact area while also depressing the rim to a proper level. Additionally, the presently claimed device does a better job, with fewer moving parts resulting in far more robust device that reduces turf injury healing times.
Other patents describing the closest subject matter provide for a number of more or less complicated features that fail to solve the problem in an efficient and economical way. None of these patents suggest the novel features of the present invention.